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London, tube to St Pancras International

I will depart London by Eurostar and will need to arrive at St Pancras Station at 9 am on a weekday. Is the tube super crowded at that time of day? How much walking is there from the south bound platform of the Metropolitan Line to the check in counters at St Pancras? I'm debating what time I should leave to allow for walking/crowds on the tube, etc.

Allow ten minutes from the southbound Metropolitan to the Eurostar check-in: bear in mind there are stairs (though there will be lifts somewhere). You then have to go through airport-style security (though not quite as intrusive, just an X-ray inspection of baggage), and both British and French passport checks. This doesn't take as long as it feels like (maybe no more than 10-15 minutes at most), but Eurostar are now asking people to arrive 45 minutes before departure time. Boarding and getting everyone settled takes quite a chunk of that, of course, since it's a long, long train and hundreds of people to get aboard.

I haven't used the southbound Metropolitan, but although it is a busy commuter route from way out in the northwestern suburbs, I don't think you need worry about not being able to get on a train. The services are pretty frequent and they have now upgraded to "all-through" rolling stock which allows a lot more floor space for standing passengers. The only problem might be if you're trying to transport a couple of steamer trunks and the kitchen sink. An ordinary suitcase isn't likely to be too much of a problem.

It's can be crowded between 8 and 9, though since the new carriages came onto that route, I've never encountered Tokyo-style sardine-like conditions. If a train looks fuller than you're comfortable with, you'll have seen which carriages are less full. Though it's impractical to move to another spot while the train's at the platform, you can easily walk to that spot once it's left and get the next one.

The lifts at KX/StP can be tricky to find and searching them out might mean dealing with crowds moving in the opposite direction to you. The stair alternative is undemanding for most of us, and is likely to be a great deal easier than faffing with the lift unless your luggage represents a real problem.

The signs for St P in the Tube, and for Eurostar once you're out of it, are unmissable. Unless you've got a prob, 10 mins is usually likely to be at least twice how long it'll take you.

BUT there is a passenger movement management system at KX/St P that's occasionally activated at peak times. To cut the risk of serious congestion at the gates into and out of the tube, a controller can change the signs directing you to KX and/or St P. This channels passengers by a roundabout route to gates less congested at that moment - which at St P, are usually in a relatively remote part of the station for Eurostar passengers.

The signing there is equally clear, but it can add another five - ten mins to the "tube platform to checkin barrier" time.